In 1999 drum & bass some of the most popular drum & bass dj's were AK1200, Dara, Aphrodite, J Smooth and Dieselboy. Along with them was dj's like Shy FX, DJ SS, DB and John B were popular. J. Majik was continuing to innovate, having started his own label known as Infrared a few years prior, he then released the Nightvision EP. This 3 disk set contained music by Goldie, System 3, John B, and Total Science. Other notable releases were tracks like "Stalker" by Usual Suspects which was featured on Dieselboy's "A Soldiers Story."
"A Soldiers Story" was aptly named because it was popular to feature drum & bass dj's on side stages or second stages at multi-room events. While there were many parties aimed primarily at drum & bass it was rare to find house music or techno as side stage music to a drum & bass main floor. "A Solider's Story" was referring to the fight in getting drum & bass the recognition that it deserved.
Outside of the drum & bass industry, raves continued to grow in popularity. However many ravers of earlier generations had begun to feel that the influx of new event attendees was damaging to the culture. Drug use was as much of a problem as it had always been, however it was clear to the older generation that kids were coming to raves specifically to use drugs. Trance, happy hardcore and even faster pitched techno had become popular with party attendees looking to indulge in party drugs like acid, ecstasy or derivatives of such.
Many of the drug abusers falling into this category or interest of music were "candy ravers." Candy ravers often exchanged or shared small gifts, primarily toys, necklaces, beads, bracelets and stickers. The defining part of their appearance is that they typically wear a large number of homemade bracelets made of colorful plastic beads known as "kandi." The fundamental idea behind the bracelets was to remember past raves and commemorate new friendships. In many cases a Kandi Kid found one or more things to wear that would make them stand out from other ravers, often wearing the same outfit or similar style outfits at events in order to be easily recognized or known. It was also popular for people to come up with rave names which were aliases used in the party scene.
On the other side of the spectrum, typical fans of drum & bass did not dawn kandi as their attire. Junglists throughout the span of the rave scene often wore hoodies and ball caps. During the end of the nineties almost all ravers were wearing clothing made by Mecca and Ecko. They also often wore Addidas or Kangol visors. Kikwear jeans and JNCO jeans were also popular as well as UFOs.
UFO Clothing was actually developed in 1967, using military surplus as inspiration. UFO Clothing adapted it to the times by using music, art and contemporary ideologies as its foundation. The UFO cargo pants and skirts were made of a light weight, polyester & cotton blend which were made baggy which were popular for ravers dancing all night long.
This session features a few popular tracks from the 1999 period of drum & bass. Some of the releases were from J. Magik's 3-disc Nightvision set which was one of my favorite releases at the time.
Futurebound - Sustain
Accidental Heroes - Dragster
Konflict - Cyanide
The Ganja Kru - Ghetto Brother
System 3 - Gatekeeper
Accidental Heroes - Elements
Red One - Strangled Duck
DJ Freedom - Chainsaw
John B - Gollum vs. Poison Arrow
